The Devil's Tomb
| The Devil's Tomb | |
|---|---|
| ◄Eamon adventure #7► | |
 | |
| Author | Jim Jacobson |
| Released | 1980 |
| Revised | 6 July 1989 |
| EAG number | 7 |
| EDX number | 03-03 |
| EDX set | The Jim Jacobson Adventures Deluxe |
| Native format | Apple DOS 3.3 |
| File | Eamon 7 - The Devil's Tomb.dsk |
The Devil's Tomb is an Eamon adventure written by Jim Jacobson.
Background
The Devil's Tomb is the third adventure written by Jim Jacobson, and was first published in 1980. Bearing most of the hallmarks of an early Jacobson adventure, a slightly comical dungeon to explore with random effects, The Devil's Tomb is one of the most frequently ported Eamon adventures, appearing as part of Michael Detlefsen's Atari ST port of Eamon under the name The Goblin's Tomb.
Premise
You stumble across an old book describing a dungeon in Hades, and as you read it a mysterious voice (presumably that of the titular "Devil") offers you the chance to try the dungeon for yourself. A hole opens beneath you and you're magically transported down a long shaft into a dungeon cell in Hades, from which must fight your way out, picking up treasure and contending with odd magic, random monsters, and strange challenges along the way.
There are some minor differences in the premise between the original form of the adventure and the Eamon Deluxe version. The following is Jim Jacobson's original introduction verbatim:
Now you've done it!
As you started your next adventure, you accidentally stumbled upon an old book that described a very perplexing and challenging dungeon — in Hades!!! As you read the book, you suddenly hear a booming voice from nowhere say, "So, you think you are a noble adventurer? If you want a challenge, try my dungeon!" As the voice chuckles fiendishly, you realize that you are falling down a dark, narrow shaft. After you hit bottom, you see that you are in a dungeon cell. The voice says, "Good luck, sucker!"
Frank Black's Eamon Deluxe version makes a few minor adjustments:
While lounging about at the Main Hall one day, you noticed an old book sitting on the bar, apparently forgotten by someone. You opened it curiously and started to read a tale describing a very dangerous and challenging dungeon... in Hades! As soon as you began to grow interested, a booming voice appeared from nowhere:
"So, you consider yourself an adventurer? Want a challenge? Try my dungeon!"
The voice began to chuckle fiendishly and a hole appeared beneath you. You found yourself falling down a dark narrow shaft! When you hit the bottom, you realized that you were locked in a dungeon cell. Somewhere in the distance a voice says, "Good luck, sucker!"
Walkthrough
Original version
EAG president Tom Zuchowski wrote a walkthrough of the original version of the adventure published in the December 2000 issue of the Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter. Zuchowski says that The Devil's Tomb "isn't really all that difficult of an outing, except that there are one or two puzzles that will surely try your puzzling skills as well as your patience!"
Eamon Deluxe version
The Eamon Deluxe conversion, as with others of The Jim Jacobson Adventures Deluxe, adds some extra specials and challenges to the game. It also adds the ability to meet former characters from previously played Jim Jacobson adventures, as well as simplifying some of the puzzles, albeit that unlike in The Cave of the Mind no extra rooms have been added.
If you departed The Zyphur Riverventure with the Gold Warrior as a friend, he will appear at the beginning of the adventure to break down the cell door. You will also encounter A.J. in one of the other torture cells confessing that he also got tricked into the dungeon through reading the book.
If you defeated him on the Zyphur River, the Black Warrior is back for revenge just up the ladder near the Trezore book, and he continues his rivalry with the Gold Warrior seen in the previous adventure.
The zombie is always friendly in the Eamon Deluxe version, described as "an amnesiac zombie"; however, there is a chance that he will remember who he is, and if he does so he'll instantly become hostile.
Various other characters have been added, including a large number of extra gamblers in the casino. You can also now read or examine many more objects, for instance the inscription above the cell where the mutant baby lies now reads "day care center", and examining the window of the cell where the wild man is confined shows a view of a lake of fire.
It is no longer necessary to drop all your equipment to open the bolted iron door; instead, simply use the box of TNT on it.
Reviews
Tom Zuchowski Awarded the adventure a 4 of 10, and cited it as a particularly hard play. He also was slightly displeased at some of the programming inequities that occurred due to the early version of the Eamon program used in the adventure, such as the need to use the full name of objects such as doors.
Luke Hewitt awarded the Eamon Deluxe version a 6, enjoying the setting though noting it was a more traditional dungeon than previous Jim Jacobson adventures.
In other adventures
- The spell Trezore is another reference to the powerful wizard who appears in The Quest for Trezore.
- In the Eamon Deluxe version of this adventure A.J. returns one final time in The Abductor's Quarters.
Trivia
- It is obvious from the use of demons, torture devices and the appearance of tridents and other symbolic artifacts that that Jim Jacobson obviously meant this adventure to be set in Hell rather than the underworld of Greek mythology. It is possible he made the name change to avoid giving offence to certain Christian players, much as was done in the seventh Fighting Fantasy Gamebook Steve Jackson's House of Hell which was released as House of Hades in the United States.
- This adventure was the first both to let the player alter their Hardiness, Agility and Charisma by betting in the Casino, and to feature trap items that damaged the player when drunk or wielded. Frank Black actually recommends using such trap items to the player's advantage in the Eamon Deluxe conversion since they can be given to unfriendly monsters who will try to either drink or wield them.
External links
- Eamon Adventurer's Guild Library Master List
- The Interactive Fiction Database: The Devil's Tomb
- Interactive Fiction Reviews: The Devil's Tomb
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